Separating beauties from beasts

OPI German-icure by OPI Swatches & Review

OPI German-icure by OPI is exactly the vampy shade I needed for a break from neons and bright shades.

You know that I’m still gaga for those, but it’s always fun to switch it up. Then, when you go back to wearing those fun, light-hearted shades, you appreciate them more.

German-icure by OPI has a cute, punny name that I appreciate. 🙂

This sexy siren hails from the OPI Germany Collection that is due out this August! I’m very grateful to be able to wear this colour and share it with you!

If this seductress could talk, German-icure by OPI would have a raspy voice and would star in a film-noir. I can also picture it being sprawled across a black grand piano while singing a breathy jazz song.

Edit: So, apparently the bottles I received for OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest and OPI German-icure by OPI had the wrong labels! This one should be OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest. If you want to see my review of OPI German-icure, click here.

This colour is dark and foreboding – very sexy and mysterious! I had a hard time describing exactly what colour it is because it seemed to change.

No, it’s not a duochrome, but it looks a little different depending on the lighting. In the sunlight, you can tell that it’s an obvious burgundy with loads of shimmer. The middle of your nail is the lightest, and the edges are darker. You get that ‘lit-from-within’ effect.

In the sunlight, you can see tons of fiery-red shimmer light up your nails. It’s pretty cool to see.

While in the office, I noticed that German-icure by OPI looked way browner and much darker. Also, I could hardly see any of the shimmer unless I held my fingers right up to my eyes.

But, for the majority of the time that you’ll be wearing it, expect to mainly see burgundy.

Interesting thing: When you remove this polish, on your cotton ball, you’ll see navy blue come off, not burgundy!

Maybe it’s this slight touch of blue that gives this polish an inky feel.

Finish

This has a shimmer finish, but in dim or office lighting, it can look like a creme. When you do see the shimmer, however, it’s very glowy and sparkly – a true beauty to behold!

Application & Formula

Wow, I was so impressed by the pigmentation on this one! I was expecting a streaky first coat, but that wasn’t the case! Even the first coat was highly pigmented – nearly a one-coater! Then, with a second, everything looks completely opaque.

The polish was easy to control, and I found that the formula was self-leveling, so it helps your manicure look good even if your painting skills aren’t on point.

(Hehe, I was up really late painting my nails with this a few days ago, so I was working really fast. Despite my hastiness, I think the finished look turned out well, and I can attribute a lot of that to the great formula of this polish!)

Pros

Very pigmented

Easy-to-control formula

Vampy & has that lit-from-within effect

Cons

Can look like a brownish creme in low light

Final Verdict: 8/10

Yeah, it’s still the summer, and you’re probably on board the Bright Train, but when we get closer to the fall, I’ll bet that you’ll start craving the rich and dark shades like this.

I loved wearing this colour, and I got compliments on it from a co-worker and from a friend.

There’s something a little different about this polish than your typical burgundy shimmer. It has that inky-ness – it’s really sexy!

Is it too early for you to be feeling the vampy shades? Does the ‘German-icure’ pun make you smile, too? What’s your most-used vampy lacquer?

30 thoughts on “OPI German-icure by OPI Swatches & Review”

Oooh it is really pretty, I see what you mean by lit from within. I wasn’t even aware the German collection was coming out, I see I desperately need to do some research. xPowdered Almond recently posted: Question, um, Thursday – The Fair

Hi Mary,
Awesome job as always. I like this color in the light, not all that thrilled with it when it looks a little brown. It does remind me a little of the Holland’s Vampsterdam. Not really sure I will be buying this one, but deffenitly want the blue. Have a great day. :~)

Hehe, yeah, brown polish isn’t everybody’s thing. For many years, I didn’t buy a single brown polish. Then one day, I did and was surprised how much I liked it. But it’s only certain browns/bronzes that excite me. They have to have shimmer, I’ve realized. If they’re just creme browns, I can’t get into it…haha, because they remind me of something nasty. 😛

I’m actually wearing the blue from this collection right now and plan to review it soon. 😉

I don’t have OPI Diva of Geneva, but I do have OPI The One That Got Away. In comparison, German-icure by OPI is a very dark shimmery burgundy, whereas The One That Got Away is a much-brighter magenta. They’re extremely different, so you can justify owning both.

I know what I said before, but NOW I’m intrigued! I can’t decide if it’s like Romeo and Joliet or Bogota Blackberry or a franken of the two. Nonetheless, both are staples for me, so I’ll more than likely be getting this one!

After the 4th of July (when I am in need for a new color change), I probably will stick with more brights. This one from the fall OPI German collection really shouts at me of older shades that fill my collection from Zoya to other OPI shades. I cannot come up with names of like ones off the top of my head – but I really do recall wearing a lot of shades like this…so far nothing is strongly jumping out at me from the OPI fall collection – ditto for last year’s fall OPI grouping – despite I ended up buying a # of ’em – but I was buying a lot of everything then. Now that my stash has out grown my ability to store them, I am a whole lot more discriminating on what I pick up.

We’re very much alike…haha, I’ve been holding off on buying as many polishes these days because of my limited storage. Need to get another Helmer, but then I’m worried when I do, I may go ballistic since I have more space for new colours. 😉

I actually don’t have too many shades like this because I didn’t collect as many vampy burgundies back in the day. The closest one I have is OPI Royal Rajah Ruby, but it’s very different. The only thing they share is that ‘glowy-ness’.

You wouldn’t happen to own Black Cherry Chutney and could compare the two? This polish looks absolutely to die for, but so does BCC, so if they’re very similar I won’t be getting both… What do you think?

Haha, nail painting can always be tidier, more interesting, and just…’better’! But, if you follow my blog, you’ll know that a philosophy I live by is happiness over perfection. I don’t believe that manicures must be perfect. When a manicure makes me happy and smile, that’s enough for me. OPI German-icure by OPI definitely brought a huge grin on my face, so mission accomplished! 😉

I think a lot of bloggers got bottles that had the wrong labels! This one definitely looks like Every Month is Oktoberfest, and your review of EMIO definitely looks like German-icure. They are both nice colours though and your reviews are great too!